Friday, February 4, 2011

Robert Plant on David Letterman

Robert Plant entered the Late Night With David Letterman soundstage on Broadwayand 54th street to the sound of Good Rockin’ at Midnight. “The Honeydrippers, I played on that with Robert,” said Late show bandleader Paul Schaffer.

Plant talked about his early influences, hearing himself on the radio for the first time (“hey, that’s me,”) and meeting Elvis Presley. Elvis, he told Letterman, was very aware of his imitators. I could relate, he told Letterman:

Through the 70’s everybody took their shirt off, but they just didn’t have the chest for it.

The story ends with Plant and Presley singing to each other, a few sentimental tears being shed.

After a break, Plant sang House of Cards. Somewhat unusually for Letterman’s show, he did not sing with Shaffer’s house band but was joined onstage with his own Band of Joy.

“That is music,” Paul Schaffer said when they were done, while Letterman had an offer for mandolin playing Buddy Miller: “you come work for me,” he told him, “I’ll buy you a real guitar.”